FL: Seminole kicks in $500K to advance SunRail toward OIA, Universal

Seminole County this week took its first financial step toward supporting a yearslong plan to connect SunRail passengers to the massive Orlando International Airport and theme park district in neighboring Orange County.

On Tuesday, commissioners unanimously agreed to pitch in $500,000 for a $6 million study that would delve into feasibility of the proposed Sunshine Corridor, a rail system that would allow SunRail passengers to travel from airport gates to theme parks without using the area’s roads.

“I fully support this,” said Seminole Commissioner Bob Dallari, longtime advocate of the Sunshine Corridor. “I think it’s not only important but imperative that we do this.”

When SunRail trains first rolled down the tracks more than a decade ago, supporters said the ultimate goal was connecting the train line — which runs 61 miles north and south through Volusia, Seminole, Orange and Osceola counties — eastward to the airport, which handles more than 60 million passengers a year.

At an estimated cost of $4.4 billion, the Sunshine Corridor also would extend westward to Universal Studios, the Orange County Convention Center and Disney Springs.

On the Sunshine Corridor, SunRail trains would share about 12 miles of tracks with Brightline — the high-speed train which travels between Miami and the airport.

Proponents say that more than 100,000 residents work in the area around the airport and theme parks near the corridor — and the project would help relieve traffic congestion in the fast-growing region. While local residents wanting to fly out of the airport would not have to search for increasingly-scarce parking spaces.

“The extension of rail to the airport and the attractions is a game changer for employers, employees, tourists and people who live here. It’s a huge quality-of-life improvement in Central Florida,” said Seminole Commissioner Amy Lockhart, chair of the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission Board which oversees SunRail.

In 2024, SunRail had 1.2 million riders, a 12% jump from the previous year, the Florida Department of Transportation announced Wednesday. State officials credited the recent opening of the DeLand station, a new mobile ticketing app and improved ticketing system.

But the first step for the Sunshine Corridor: the region must conduct a project, development and environmental study commonly known as a PD&E — before the federal government and the state of Florida agree on providing any funding for the project. Such a study would dive into projected ridership, the system’s maintenance, operational costs, environmental impacts, station locations and track alignments. It could take about two years to complete.

The Florida Department of Transportation — which would oversee the PD&E study — agreed last year to pay $2 million as long as governments and other private entities along the route kick in the remaining $4 million.

Orlando then said it was pitching in $500,000 last fall — before Seminole agreed to the same this week. Orange County leaders have expressed support for the Sunshine Corridor and plan to vote on a contribution at a future commission meeting, according to a spokesperson. Volusia and Osceola, whose leaders have said they back the Sunshine Corridor, have yet to commit any money.

In 2022, Universal donated 13 acres of land for a SunRail station at the convention center along the proposed Sunshine Corridor route. The theme park giant also partnered with the I-Drive Resort Area Chamber of Commerce. A year later, Orange County and the chamber approved a special taxing district for the donated Universal land to help generate funds for Sunshine Corridor.

Lockhart said entities along the route contributing to the study will show the federal government the region “has some skin in the game” and is serious about the project.

“I think Seminole County needs to step up so that we are part of the contributed column and maybe through positive peer pressure will move others,” Lockhart said in urging fellow commissioners to approve funding. “But it’s up to each individual entity to decide how much and if to contribute.”

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